Mobile News – RCR Wireless News

BEDFORD, Mass.-Two top executives at Boston Communications Group Inc. have bowed out of their positions in connection with an internal review of stock-option grants, as has the company’s general counsel. BCGI’s chief financial officer, Karen Walker, left the company, while …

As the wireless industry rounds third base on its way into the holiday home stretch, many will depend on momentum from the third quarter to carry them through. The first round of third quarter earnings has begun to trickle in, …

BOCA RATON, Fla.-Global Tower Partners may be the next tower company to get swallowed up as the industry’s giants fight over who will be king of the mountain. Global Tower Partners is owned by Blackstone Group LP, and, according to …

NEW YORK-Outlining Walt Disney Co.’s strategy for tackling a consumer-driven TV future, Anne Sweeney, co-chair of Disney Media Networks and president of Disney-ABC TV, revealed some of the company’s numerous new-media initiatives around the globe at Mipcom, an international programming …

WASHINGTON-Nearly two years after President Bush authorized the creation of an advisory committee as part of spectrum policy initiative launched in 2003, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration has yet to disclose identities of members, whether any meetings have been …

WASHINGTON-The Federal Communications Commission’s scheduled vote on AT&T Inc.’s proposed $69 billion acquisition of BellSouth Corp. imploded last Friday, with Chairman Kevin Martin delaying action on the deal until at least next month. The news follows revelations that AT&T has …

SAN JOSE, Calif.-Covad Communications Group Inc. said it signed an agreement to acquire the assets of Chicago-based broadband wireless operator DataFlo Communications L.L.C. for $1.4 million. The cash transaction is expected to close this month. The deal expands Covad’s broadband …

WASHINGTON-A major fallout of Congress’ failure to pass telecom-reform legislation this year is the continued imposition of new state and local cell-phone taxes, like the one on track to begin Jan. 1 in South Sioux City, Neb. Though only a …

WASHINGTON-The Federal Communications Commission said it believes fixed-low-power devices can operate in the vacant TV spectrum after the transition to digital TV is completed, set for 2009. The vacant TV channels are set aside to protect TV broadcasters from interference, …

WASHINGTON-The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia affirmed a lower court ruling dismissing a lawsuit by a former T-Mobile USA Inc. national sales manager, who claimed the No. 4 cell-phone carrier fired him to avoid paying more …

WASHINGTON-Cingular Wireless L.L.C. said it has filed three lawsuits in the federal court in Atlanta to stop telemarketers from making unsolicited and illegal calls to its wireless customers. In one lawsuit, Cingular alleges that Sebell Telecommunications L.L.C. of Miami, Fla. …

Freedom Wireless Inc. scored another licensing agreement as Virgin Mobile USA L.L.C. agreed to use the patent holding company’s prepaid wireless billing technology. The agreement resolves Freedom’s claims of patent infringement against the mobile virtual network operator-a joint venture between …

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif.-ROK Entertainment Group U.S. expanded its mobile video offerings with 13 free channels of news, music and sports. The subsidiary of the U.K.-based wireless video company unveiled FreeBe TV, a WAP-based service for roughly two dozen 2.5G and …

WASHINGTON-President George W. Bush signed the port-security bill into law, a move that also creates the Warning, Alert and Response Network. The WARN legislation was attached to the port-security bill, and essentially updates the nation’s Cold War-era emergency-alert system to …

The WiMAX ecosystem went from skinny to fat last week as Nortel Networks Ltd. and Nokia Corp. launched their WiMAX portfolios at the WiMAX World trade show in Boston. To date, Alcatel Inc., Fujitsu Network Communications, Motorola Inc., Nortel and …

DEL MAR, Calif.-Great Call Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. announced the launch of a new mobile virtual network operator called Jitterbug, named after the dance craze that originated in the 1930s and popularized by band leader Cab Calloway. The …

BOSTON-Thin is in, except in the case of mobile phones. A new report from research firm Strategy Analytics says phones have to be more than just slim to catch consumers’ eyes these days. Ultra-thin phones were a unique item not …

Having helped triple his company’s year-on-year profits in the third quarter, Najmi Jarwala, Sony Ericsson’s chief executive officer for North America, can afford to wax philosophical about his company’s future. “Innovation is our differentiator,” he said last week. “If we …

Under pressure to assure the market that it can expand its traditional, enterprise customer base, Palm Inc. made a high-profile announcement last week in New York at the DigitalLife 2006 conference that it would launch a Treo 680 model for …

ALAMEDA, Calif.-UTStarcom Inc. said it is exploring “strategic alternatives” and has retained Merrill Lynch & Co. as its financial adviser. The announcement could mean that UTStarcom is openly seeking to sell itself or merge with another company. “Our board of …

SAN JOSE, Calif.-Adobe Systems Inc. said it acquired vector graphics technology developed by Actimagine, a company that provides software solutions for video and interactive vector graphics. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Adobe said the acquisition allows it to …

Internet search company Ask.com upgraded its mobile search offering, rolling out a free service featuring Internet sites, driving directions, maps and weather. The subsidiary of InterActive Corp. launched Ask Mobile, an ad-free, Internet-based service designed to minimize the number of …

NEW YORK-Content provider Mobile Streams said it built an off-deck WAP portal to provide content from Showtime Networks Inc. The company said it will offer video clips from various Showtime programs. The portal initially will offer video clips and wallpapers …

SAN FRANCISCO-Following the lead of rivals Yahoo Inc. and Google Inc., Microsoft Corp. announced it will add sponsored results to its new mobile search service. Through a new partnership with voice-commerce vendor Ingenio Inc., mobile Windows Live Search users will …

NEW YORK-In a move showing the true maturation of wireless services, Sprint Nextel Corp. will begin offering access to content based on TV Land’s new self-help series “I Pity the Fool” starring movie and television legend Lawrence Tureaud, aka Mr. …